| Geography and Climate |
Greece is located in Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey. Area comparatively slightly smaller than Alabama. Total land boundary is 1,210 km, border countries are Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km.
Greece has a temperate climate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers. Terrain consists mostly of mountains with ranges extending into sea as peninsulas or chains of islands. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in Mediterranean Sea 0 m and highest point in Mount Olympus 2,917 m. Natural resources are bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble. Land use:
arable land: 19%, permanent crops: 8%, permanent pastures: 41%, forests and woodland: 20%
other: 12% (1993 est.). Irrigated land: 13,140 sq km (1993 est.). Natural hazards are severe earthquakes.
Environment—current issues: air pollution; water pollution
Geography—note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |